The present invention relates to a storage shelf system with vertical supports and horizontal bars that connect the vertical supports and provide a supporting action for horizontal shelf members extending transverse to the horizontal bars and attached with their ends to front and rear horizontal bars. The horizontal shelf members, consisting of profiled members, support the goods to be stored on their support surfaces and extend in the direction of the depth of the shelf system. These horizontal shelf members include elements for attaching and securing the horizontal shelf members to the horizontal bars.
Such shelf systems are conventionally used in large storage facilities with automatic, computer-controlled placement into storage and removal from storage of various goods. These goods are, in general, in the form of standardized containers or pallets. The shelf system is divided into a plurality of horizontally and vertically arranged compartments which extend to a certain depth in order to accommodate in each compartment a plurality of the aforedescribed goods. When placing into storage or removing from storage, the goods must be moved along the length of the compartment (depth of the shelf) for which purpose a support surface for the goods must extend into the direction of the depth of the shelf system. This support surface must at least engage below the longitudinal edges of the goods to be transported and should guide the goods to be transported during movement in order to prevent canting of the goods within the compartment.
A known shelf system for storage purposes with the aforementioned features is comprised of a system of vertical supports to which are connected horizontal bars in order to define the individual compartments, respectively, their height. The horizontal bars extend along the front and rear side of the shelf system and serve, in addition to forming a truss system with the vertical supports, to also support shelf members which extend at a right angle to the horizontal bars into the depth of the shelf system. The horizontal shelf members serve as a goods support surface and have respectively at least one support surface for vertically supporting the goods to be stored as well as additional guide surfaces for laterally guiding the goods. The horizontal shelf members are shaped as elongate angled profiled members and are arranged in pairs for each row of goods, i.e., the supported goods rest with their opposed longitudinal edges on two adjacent shelf members. However, it is also possible to shape the shelf members symmetrically so that they support simultaneously the longitudinal edge of one row of goods as well as the longitudinal edge of a neighboring row of goods. This reduces the number of required shelf members by half.
For attaching the shelf members, their forward and rearward ends are connected to a front horizontal support and a rear horizontal bar by screws. These mounting steps, since they have to be performed separately for each individual shelf member, are very time-consuming and contribute to about 40% of the costs of such storage systems.
A storage system that can be much more easily installed is known from German Gebrauchsmusterschrift 296 14 743. This shelf system uses shelf members which for installation of the shelf system must only be placed into cutouts at the forward and rearward horizontal bars. However, a lateral fixation in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal bars is not present so that the shelf members can be accidentally moved to some extent. Since between two vertical supports seven to ten shelf members are arranged, such positioning errors can result in deviations in the horizontal bar direction in the amount of a centimeter, even when the shelf members are very precisely manufactured. In modern shelf systems these deviations may result in difficulties for loading and unloading goods with the commonly used precisely operating transporting and loading devices.
For securing the shelf members in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal bars, it is suggested in German Gebrauchsmusterschrift 295 12 116 to attach profiled members which form the shelf members directly or via additional support bars at the horizontal bars. The support bars, which are comprised of plastic, are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal beams and are provided with securing elements that extend at a right angle to the horizontal bars and project into the ends of the profiled members in order to secure them in the longitudinal direction of the horizontal bars. A disadvantage of this design is the requirement for additional fastening or attachment elements in the shape of support bars made of plastic to be inserted into the horizontal bars. The expenditure for installation of the shelf system cannot be reduced with this solution.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a storage shelf system having a construction that in comparison to known storage shelf systems is loadable to the same extent but requires a reduced installation expenditure.